In the future shopping for groceries might be different from the way we know now. A Swedish start up, Wheelys, works together with China´s Hefei Unversity of Technology to overhaul the shopping experience. They predict that in future everyone, from big retailers to small communities, will employ their own mobile, automatic grocery. The technologies are already there – self-driving cars, mobile payment and wireless tagging of stock.
But the concept of small grocery shops that come to the customer are still in an early state and are currently being road-tested. It will be some time before it becomes reality. The rise of online shopping turned the retail experience upside down. For many online shopping is more convenient, offers lower prices and it is responsive to their preferences. On the other hand, going to an actual store offers the chance to choose the ripest fruit and talk to other people.
Retailers now try to offer the best of both worlds – on and offline. In China there are already more than 150 static automatic shops. You enter by swiping your mobile phone, scan each item and the bill is settled via an online payment system. This also cuts the running costs for stores significantly. China forges ahead with the cashierless store concept. Although it might take a while until cashierless shopping arrives, it will definitely come, experts say.
groceries (ˈgrəʊsəriz) – die Lebensmittel
together (təˈgeðəʳ) – zusammen, gemeinsam
to overhaul (ˈəʊvəhɔ:l) – etw überholen, bearbeiten
experience (ɪkˈspɪəriən(t)s) – die Erfahrung
to predict (prɪˈdɪkt) – etw vorhersagen
retailer (ˈri:teɪləʳ) – der Einzelhändler
to employ (ɪmˈplɔɪ) – jdn einstellen, beschäftigen
payment (ˈpeɪmənt) – die Bezahlung
wireless (ˈwaɪələs) – kabellos
to tag (tæg) – etw markieren, kennzeichnen
stock (stɒk) – der Bestand, Vorrat
currently (ˈkʌrəntli) – zurzeit, gegenwärtig
to road-test (rəʊd-test) – etwas Probe fahren, testen
convenient (kənˈvi:niənt) – zweckmäig, praktisch, bequem
to offer (ˈɒfəʳ) – etw anbieten
responsive (rɪˈspɒn(t)sɪv) – entgegenkommend, gut reagierend
preference (ˈprefərən(t)s) – die Priorität, Vorliebe
ripe (raɪp) – reif
already (ɔ:lˈredi) – bereits, schon
item (ˈaɪtəm) – der Artikel, Gegenstand
bill (bɪl) – die Rechnung
running cost (ˈrʌnɪŋkɒst) – laufende Kosten
to forge ahead (fɔ:ʤ) – hier: vorauseilen, die Fürhung übernehmen
cashierless (kæʃˈɪəʳ) – Kassiererlos, ohne Kassierer